CHAPTER 3: The Sedan at the Curb

The black sedan had been there the entire time.
Rachel had noticed it only as scenery, one more luxury object outside one more luxury hotel. She had admired the polished bodywork, the tinted windows, the quiet power of it parked beneath the streetlights.
She had not connected it to Noah.
Why would she?
In her mind, beautiful things belonged to people like her, or to men she intended to marry next time.
Noah turned slightly toward the car, but he did not move closer.
Behind the windshield, a figure shifted.
Rachel kept talking because silence made her nervous.
“I gave you chances,” she said. “I waited for you to become serious.”
Noah looked at her. “Serious about money?”
“Serious about life.”
“You mean appearances.”
Her mouth tightened.
The driver’s door opened.
Rachel heard it before she understood what it meant: the soft click of a luxury car door, the controlled movement of someone who did not hurry because he had never needed to.